the daily collegian editorial opinion Students can influence politics even after the election Maybe Congress should repeal the 26th amendment to the Constitution. As far as it goes in State College, the under -21 crowd has done little to show that it deserves the right to vote. While the voter turnout for State College was about 25 percent in Tuesday's election, student turnout was about half that. No more than 20 percent of registered voters turned out in any student-dominated district, and one district had a turnout as low as 3 percent. And that's not counting the people who didn't even have the common sense to register. The real losers in this election were the students who didn't bother voting. Ray Boyle, the State College Municipal Council candidate who seemed most sympa thetic to student concerns, as well as the concerns of people as opposed to businesses finished last in the election, with less than half the votes of the leader, Republican John Dombroski. But Boyle would have won a seat with fewer than 1,000 more votes. If one more out of every 40 Penn State students had voted, the outcome might have been very different. Of course, we're all full of excuses. Students don't have the time.to get involved in local politics. But people who work 40 hours a week and have families find time. reader opinion Afterlife - Well, here I am, only five months out of Penn State, and somewhat settled in Stockton, Califor nia. (Look it up on a map.) • Let's see, it's October our football team is number one in the nation, the freshmen are no longer getting lost, the sophomores and -the juniors are partying in full swing and the'seniors are sick of studying. I miss it all! I'm tempted to offer this swap, "a secure job in California for a student I.D. and a new social security number." ••But alas, all things change. It must be so to avoid stagnation. My degree in microbiology and niy commission through the Navy ROTC pro gram have set me off in the career of my choice. I'm far from home, but I have my memories, my PSU t-shirts, my La Vie, my friends and my roved ones—all of which have become part of the me that I am today. ;I'm still Penn State Proud and true blue and White! There is no Phyrst Phamily here, nor Oldies Nite at the 'Gaff—however, there is a new Winning. Once a Lion, always•a Lion—no mat ter where you go or what you do. But most importantly, I've found that there is life after Penn State, because of Penn State! Debi Przywara Ensign, United States Navy May 1981 PSU graduate Misconceptions As much as the Centre County Women's Re sOurce Center appreciates the fact that David Yarosh wrote an article about us in the Tuesday, Oct. 27 edition of the Collegian, there are some errors and misconceptions that I would like to clear up. Unlike the image projected by the title of the article, "Center Helps Troubled Women", the Women's Center is for all women, not just those *MI XMvPAILfiNev&---. Not too late in a crisis, or troubled situation. We support and affirm the growing independence and equality of women in all areas of our community. Our training, which does'occur semi-annually, is open to both men and women. After training, because of the crisis nature of the effects of rape and abuse, women staffers are used in the support system for these victims rather thatn our male staffers. In our training we do not deal directly with child abuse, rather with the prob lem of wife abuse. Our safe-home program for women who have been abused is through the generosity of commu nity people who volunteer their homes for two or three days. These homes are not staffed by voluteers, but during this short time Center voluteers do work with these victims of batter ing. Under no circumstances is the purpose of a safe home, or in the future a shelter, to give abused women the time to "finally learn how to deal with their husbands." The battering is the husband's problem. The woman is the victim of such violence. A shelter would give her a chance to regain her self-esteem and grow in indepen cence and self-reliance. How clever a woman is at "dealing" with her husband has nothing to do with'whether the battering will occur or not. Last but not least, the name of our Financial /Grants Manager, who also conceived and man aged the "Late Bloomers" programs described in the article is'lran Mohsenin. Charlotte T. Best Director, Centre County Women's Resource Cen ter Oct. 28 No revenge Student government is on the verge of entering nuclear warfare. The leaders of student govern ment have suffered huge casualties at the hands of the administration. There is a move afoot to Most students are in State College for only four years anyway why should they care when they'll be gone so soon? But on average, Americans move from town to town almost every four or five years. In today's footloose, mobile society, four years is a long time. Being a student in State College doesn't exempt a person from the rights and responsi bilities of voting. But so much for priggishness. Voting is, at least until next April, a moot question. Election day is history. That does not, however, mean it's too late for students to have an influence on the municipal council. • It's not too late to talk with council members elect Dombroski and Wiser, both of whom failed to take strong stands on student-related issues during the campaign. It's not too late for students to scrutinize council meetings and make noises when their interests are overlooked. And, although they won't have reserved seats at the municipal building, Boyle and fellow losing candidate James Deeslie don't have to stop being active in local politics. It's not too late. Students still can give their support. The Daily Collegian's editorial opinion is determined by it Board of Opinion with the .editor-in-chief holding final responsibility. press the button and annihilate the other side, and thus ourselves. What I am referring to is the recent failure on the part of the student government at Penn State to be heard and understood by the administra tion. Specifically a . proposal that attempted to eliminate the potential tragedies of .a massive traffic jam after the Notre' Dame game was vetoed without being seriously reviewed by the administration. Logically, we should regroup and set our minds and hearts toward the task of represent ing student needs rather than seeking revenge for past injustices. There is work to be done on the problems of minority recruitment, the cuts in student aid, the calendar conversion, the lack of quality student housing, the death of veteran's benefits, the problem of incomprehensible for eign teaching assistants, and the lack of a forum for student input into University departments such as intramurals. The time is now to get on with our real purpose, that of discussing ISSUES and taking ACTION. We are all faced with our own brick walls on campus, but we must work together to achieve a system of constructive communication with our faculty and administration. Constructive communication will never be achieved if we allow our anger and disappoint ment to turn us toward the destruction of individ uals. Growth comes only through a letting go of our past setbacks and looking forward to future milestones. Dave Dixon, Interfraternity Council President ,Nov. 3 Judge not This is in reply to State College Mayor Arnold Addison. To directly quote an avid recycler from days past,"Judge not, lest you also be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall also be TmePhylOs Schlafly s ° uciess Tips... MEN judged and what measure you use, it shall be measured against you. Why do you see the splinter in your brother's eye, but forget about the beam that is in your own eye, then you shall see clearly enough to pull out the splinter that is in your brother's eye!" As Mayor of State College, yoti preside over the daily landfilling (or shall we say "legitimized littering") of nearly 60 tons orprecious resources (or as you might say, "trash or garbage"). As a Republican and presumably a fiscal conservative, you condone the burying of ferrous metals, glass, aluminum and huge amounts of combustible materials (or shall we say "mon ey") ; and then charge the people of State College over half a million dollars to do so. As an individual in this town you are faced with a very definite choice: you can one-way your daily average of 5 pounds of solid waste, or you can recycle it. As an example to young and old alike, you are failing miserably on this score. Yes, it's true, some of our members (myself included) placed recycling flyers in the wrong places. We are guilty as charged, for placing the signs and for following a poor example! P.S:: You can always find us busy Eco-Action members at Parking Lot 83 on campus every second and fourth Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., dutifully chipping away at the Borough's solid waste fees. Woody Mac Hugh State College Resident Nov. 1 Number 1 0?! I am absolutely appalled and outraged by a Defense Department report I read yesterday. It seems that Penn State is ranked number 10 out of all the universities in the country doing military research for the Pentagon. I am ashamed that our own Blue and White is ranked behind such lightweights as John Hop kins University and the University of Rochester, let alone that a virtual non-entity like the Illinois Institute of Technology, which received twice as many military contracts (in dollars) as Penn State. How many of us know that we lost nearly $3 million worth of contracts from fiscal year 1979 to fiscal year 1980 (down 16 percent to a mere $12.5 dollars)? These facts lead me to wonder where our priorities are? In these days of Messrs. Reagan, Weinberger and Haig, plus the hugest military buildup in the history of mankind, I fear that Happy Valley is being left far behind. If Lion supporters would only clamor for more military contracts as fervently as that record crowd backed our football team against West Virginia, I'm sure we could be Number One in this way also! ! Chris O'Brien (9th-environmental resource man agement) Nay. 3. Problems remain Now that the Notre Dame "issue" is decided, it's time to address the concerns that seemed to get lost in the process. Traffic is always a problem after Penn State football games. One of our concerns was to ease the traffic crunch because of the term break coinciding with the game. We were also con cerned about the possibility of inclement weath er and the effect that it might have on the traffic problems. These were and still are very real concerns of ARHS, however, one issue has been put aside too many times in the review of the situation, the real presence of people who have "had too much". Much of the supposed concern of .the adminis tration was staffing a drunk tank. ARHS' initial WOMEN concern was for the large number of people who do drink at Penn State football games, these include not only students but faculty, staff, and alumni. I do not wish to preach on the evils of drink, nor do I mean to imply that every one drinks in excess, but many people do and then attempt to drive. That is the main reason ARHS ' started the idea of a room where people who did not feel they could drive could "wait over" until they felt they could make it home safely. Realis tically, we, as a council, are concerned about the safety of our fellow students, their parents, alumni and everyone else who is unfortunate enough to get caught in post-game traffic. In the review of the situation only a few people have even eared to acknowledge the presence of drunk people. It is time that we, as a University, look at problems realistically and make deci sions based on fact, rather than avoiding the real dilemmas and making decisions on secondary premises. Christopher A. Calkins, ARHS President Nov. 1 No sympathy Poor Johnny Oswald. It's really tough having to say no to saving lives, isn't it, Johnny? It's even tougher not explaining yourself on why You're sending people out to die, isn't it Johnny? Tell me, is your precious court battle more important than doing the right thing? Do you really want to rid the campus of excess people that badly? Because if that's what you want, then you had better plan on either retiring early or getting ready to battle a whole new slew of lawsuits stemming from your decision. It's funny, you know. You were worried about one lawsuit and now you may have to worry about more than one. I don't feel sorry for you and I hope no one else does. Joseph D. Berkowitz (sth-English writing op- tion) Oct. 29 dtahaeycollegian Thursday Nov. 5, 1981—Page 2 Paula Froke Business Manager BOARD OF EDITORS: Managing Editor, Phil Gutis; Editorial Editoi, Tom Boyer; Assistant Editorial Edi tor, Becky Jones; News Editors, Cindy Deskins, Dave Medzerian; Sports Editor, Mike Poorman; Assistant Sports Editors, Sharon Fink, Ron Gardner; Arts Editor, Elaine Wetmore; Assistant Arts Editor, Judd Blouch; Photo Editor, Stelios Varias; Assistant Photo Editors, Janis Burger, Renee Jacobs; Graphics Editor, Lynda Cloud; Wire Editor, Maryann Hakowski; Copy Editors, Cindy Cox, Karen Konski, Jackie Martino, Iris Naar, Lynda Robinson, Leslie Zuck; Campus Editor, Joyce Venezia; Assistant Campus 'Editor, Chuck Hall; Town Editor, Rosa Eberly; Assistant Town Editor, Margaret Ann Walsh; Features , Editoi, Scott McCleary; Weekly Collegian Editor, Neil Axe. Editor BOARD OF MANAGERS; Sales Manager, Paul Rudoy; Assistant Sales Manager, Monique Rura; Office Man ager, Michellp Forner; Assistant Office Manager, Mi chael Conklin; Marketing Managers, Sue Largman, Mark Pubs; National Ad Manager, Owen Landon; Co op Managers, Donna Dauterich, Jodi Shubin; Creative Director, Tracy Meyer; Layout Coordinators, Susan Largman, Holly McAllister, Barry Reichenbaugh, Jodi Shubin; Special Projects, Mary Beth Johnstone. ABOUT THE COLLEGIAN: The Daily Collegian and The Weekly Collegian are published by Collegian Inc., a non-profit corporation with a board of directors com posed of students, faculty and professionals. Students of The Pennsylvania State University write and edit both papers and solicit advertising material for them. The Daily Collegian is published Monday through Friday and distributed at the University Park campus. The Weekly Collegian is mailed to Commonwealth campus students, parents of students, alumni and other sub scribers who want to keep abreast of University news. 01981 Collegian Inc Debby Vinokur =reader opinion Engineering pride . I am addressing this letter to the girl, who on Oct. 19, expressed dissention towards her moth er's inevitable greeting, "So did you find some one yet?" In her argument, it was suggested that three-quarters of the men here at the University "do not even rate as passable . . . i.e. nerds, engineers, skinheads, Hare Krishnas, etc." I understand the message that was attempted to be communicated. However, I take offense to the claim that the engineers at the University "do not even rate as passable." As a female electrical engineering student, I find many male students in the College of Engineering attrac tive, interesting, intelligent, and even "above average" on that rating scale that the "nerds, skinheads, and Hare Krishnas" can never hope to top. Sorry, but I personally am attracted to guys who demonstrate that they want to work hard in pursuit of such a demanding career. I find that engineering, computer science (more nerds?) and other students in the more academically challenging majors generally carry on con verstions that hold my interest longer than those 'Chosen one' cracks up in image -obsessed won!. At the beginning of September she was an 18- year-old pseudo-adult about to begin her first year as an engineering major at the University of Delaware. • Less than one month later she was receiving psychological treatment at a hospital near her home, unable to finish her first semester. The news spread quickly through my gossip prone neighborhood. And when I called home, my 16-year-old sister told me about the breakdown in a shaken voice. No one really knew why it happened. She was young and bright and so excited about the pros pect of going away to college. She was even placed in a dormitory for academically gifted students. Her parents had invested all their hopes in their eldest daughter. They considered schools for six months before settling on the University of Dela ware. And somehow they found the money to send her to an out-of-state school. On the surface, her years in high school were successful by anyone's standards. She was pretty, popular and made the honor roll every term. Both her younger sister and mine stood in awe of her. She was the chosen one, the favored one who did everything right even when she did everything wrong. Never mind about the bottle of pills her mother found in her dresser drawer they belonged to someone else. Never mind about the time she totaled her father's company car while driving drunk it wasn't her fault. And never mind about the fact that she smoked at least one joint almost every day she could handle it. of men following a curriculum of beer, jocking, and sex. A look around at the men in business, pre-med, human development and English, just to name a few examples, confirms that in every major there are those who appeal to us, and those who do not. Engineers and the other busy students may seem quiet and rarely seen now (except when they are found behind a big book with "technical stuff"). We may not rate as "pass able" now, but we will be wearing large grins• at graduation. I think Momma would be proud to see her daughter come home with her "MRS" . . . on the arm of an engineer. Lorraine C. Weaver, 7th-electrical engineering Oct. 26 Procreation Those sad people who cannot freely open up to their enlightened contemporaries. For don't they know that sex is frequently very pleasurable? And that it leads to the most noble of undertak ings,, procreating our glorious race? Yes, and we who know will bask in our (many) Except she couldn't Because the drugs and the alcohol were crutches that gave her the strength to create an illusion an image that fooled her family, her friends and even herself. Like a magician who believes in his own tricks, she convinced the world that she was confident, competent and mature. Except she wasn't. Her safe, secure world disappeared the day she arrived at the University of Delaware and real ized that her high school reputation wasn't going to impress the thousands of students on campus with similar reputations. Suddenly all her sophisticated poses no longer substituted for maturity. Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and an ounce of pot a month didn't cure her lack of self-confidence. And pre tending everything was wonderful didn't make her less afraid. The social and academic pressures were unlike anything she had ever encountered before. She struggled to maintain her carefully constructed image, but she could only watch helplessly as the grandchildren's warm admiration when we boast, head held high, of our accomplishments , . our countless orgasms, the many individuals conquered. A full life, we will tell them, we have lived; our highest goals realized. One small evil results, though, one many people might overlook. It is that one person who is not yet strong enough to follow his own genius. That one person who one day might have become useful. Who might have eventually provided, through his life, an enduring happiness for his neighbors which he, one of few, might have found. 'Who might have done these things, but instead has not yet the resolve to dismiss his cohorts' urgings and rise above their vain and self-serving interactions. And without him, our race loses a bit of its' spirituality. Procreation might indeed be divine, but pro longing the dead is a terrible mistake. John Monsted,•l3th-English Oct. 27 Conformist Richard Bord (Collegian, 10/29) used the idea of INDIVIDUAL life to defend/support so-called illusion shattered before her eyes. Suddenly the drugs didn't work anymore. No amount of pills or pot could restore her fragile sense of self-respect, and her ability to cope rapidly disintegrated. • The pressures had finally revealed the person that she'd successfully hidden for years. She became little more than a shell a physical body desperately searching for a personality to cling to. When she began talking about suicide, one of her friends called her bewildered parents and told them to come get her. They drove to Delaware in a state of shock, unable to believe what was happening. And whether they admitted it or not, they were disap pointed, angry and embarrassed. Now she's in the psychological ward of the hospital burnt-out, confused and struggling to recover. All she wanted was to be accepted and feel as if she belonged. She just wanted to be an adult. But She discovered that an image can't substitute for substance, and surface maturity can't take the place of true strength of character. Her story is depressing, but far from unique. Her clones seem to inhabit almost every part of our image -obsessed society. And each time some one's carefully constructed image crumbles, an other unlikely breakdown occurs. Maybe that's why my sister's voice shook when she told me what happened to her idol because her story could be anyone's, and increasingly, it is. Lynda Robinson is a 12th-term political science and history major and a copy editor for The Daily Collegian. pro-lifers' absolute values. Yet, many if not most of these "pro-lifers" also seek to legislate a conformity in the form of a SOCIAL MORALI TY that would deny INDIVIDUALITY to individuals. Ben Novak, local attorney, claimed . that when the individual (or group) is (permitted to be?) responsible for her/his mown moral choices, that "allows'? the rest of society to escape the moral issues. Are moral issues individual issues or are they social issues? Ming Wong, local pediatrician, said , "Once you have a decision that life is not worth preserv ing according to a certain criterion, that crite rion may spread." In this statement may be the weakness/strength of "pro-lifers" arguments. There are many things that MAY spread, but speculation does not necessarily become reality. As long as moral issues can be reduced to SOCIAL choices, that social choice/direction may be something with which the INDIVIDUAL does not agree. If legislation makes morality a social issue, perhaps the so-called majority (the truly powerful and the truly rich) will decide what is moral. Individual, responsible, informed moral choice will be IRRELEVANT. Alfred Jones, local physician, said that society The Daily Collegian Thursday, Nov. 5, 1981-3 should not have the final say on who lives and who dies: "I believe that elective killing is wrong. That quality of life can be measured only by the person who is experiencing it." Who decides for those who can not or do not speak? When Adolph Hitler killed mental defectives, he did the killing with support of his society. (Who cares about the opinion of the TRULY NEEDY?) "Pro-lifers" have removed INDIVIDUAL choice from the individual, and made it subject for public discussion. Implicit in "pro-life" fears and efforts is the idea that if pro-choicers had the chance, we/they would seek to legislate their morality on society. Pro-choicers, by definition, actions, intentions, seed to leave individual mor al choices to the individual. As long as morality is subject for public discussion/decision, it may be subject to public perversion. By . "majority rule" (or tyranny), legislated morality precludes all and any indi viduality. As long as morality has some support in individual lives, it can not become the mono lithic version which treats individual lives as if they are all the same. Jean S. Guertler, graduate•religious studies Oct. 29
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